Sign up for afaqs! Newsletters
RJs enjoy high connect with their stations: Ormax study
Radio jockeys rank among the top three reasons why listeners tune into a radio station in Mumbai
RJ talk may be good after all! While some people consider radio jockeys' banter to be a hindrance to radio listenership, the good news is that radio jockeys are one of the key reasons for listeners to tune into a radio station, according to a syndicated study called RJ Files conducted by Ormax Media.
The study provides answers to questions that impact the success of a radio jockey - such as what makes the best RJs tick, how important RJs are for a station, and what traits an ideal RJ should have. The study also measures the popularity of RJs and the reasons behind their popularity.
The Ormax study suggests that RJs rank higher than celebrity interviews, humour quotient and contests in the list of drivers for station preference. The study also states that the popularity of the radio jockeys translates to popularity of the radio station.
It's a myth that listeners don't ascribe their favourite RJs to the stations they belong to, and hence, stations may not benefit from the popularity of their RJs. The station cut-through, which is the percentage of respondents who could correctly assign an RJ to a station, was as high as 73 per cent for the top three RJs.
Shailesh Kapoor, chief executive officer, Ormax Media believes that the contribution of an RJ towards building brand preference for a radio station is substantial. "While music is the driver, RJs can create differentiation and influence brand preference and recall,' he says.
The top five RJs control more than 75 per cent of the RJ preference share. "Any station that manages two slots in the top five will have a decisive advantage over its competition over time," he adds.
Kapoor, however, declined to share the names of the top five RJs, mentioning that it is a part of the detailed report of the findings, available for subscription.
RJ Files is a bi-annual study conducted among 600 radio listeners each in Mumbai and Delhi, in the age group of 15-44 years, belonging to SEC A, B and C. The data for each city is analysed across segments such as age, gender, SEC, city zone and station preference. The findings for the Delhi round of the study will be released early next month.